WHITEPAPER A Guide to Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi 6 in the 6 GHz Band © 2020 LitePoint, A Teradyne Company. All rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Why do we need more spectrum and why the 6 GHz band? ............................................................................... 4 Wi-Fi’s Successes ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 Wi-Fi’s Challenges .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Benefits of Wi-Fi 6E .................................................................................................................................................. 5 3. Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, how do they differ? ................................................................................................ 6 New Naming Scheme .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Technology Evolution ............................................................................................................................................... 6 4. Who are the incumbents in the 6 GHz band? ........................................................................................................ 7 5. What are the rules of operation in the 6 GHz band? ............................................................................................. 9 Standard Power Access Point .................................................................................................................................. 10 Low Power Indoor Access Point .............................................................................................................................. 11 Emissions Masks ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 6. How does the IEEE define operations in the 6 GHz band? .................................................................................. 14 Rules of Operation .................................................................................................................................................... 14 HE PHY in the 6 GHz band ...................................................................................................................................... 14 Scanning and Probing in the 6 GHz band .............................................................................................................. 14 Channelization .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 7. Wi-Fi 6E Challenges ................................................................................................................................................. 17 The 6 GHz Barrier ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 Consistent Performance across 1200 MHz ............................................................................................................. 17 Dual Band or Tri Band Devices ................................................................................................................................ 17 Emissions ................................................................................................................................................................... 17 80 MHz and 160 MHz Channels ............................................................................................................................... 17 Higher Order Modulation: 1024-QAM .................................................................................................................... 19 OFDMA ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 8. LitePoint’s Solutions for Wi-Fi 6E............................................................................................................................. 22 IQxel-MW 7G ............................................................................................................................................................ 22 IQfact+ ....................................................................................................................................................................... 23 A Guide to Wi-Fi 6E – Wi-Fi 6 in the 6 GHz Band 2 1. Introduction On April 23, 2020 the FCC voted unanimously to make 1,200 megahertz of spectrum available for unlicensed use in the 5.925-7. 125 GHz (6 GHz) band. This historic event was the culmination of several years of work by Wi-Fi advocates underscoring the FCC’s commitment to promote unlicensed standards as the indispensable engine for wireless connectivity for American consumers. The extension of Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band, named Wi-Fi 6E by the Wi-Fi Alliance [1], has been strongly advocated for by many in the Wi- Fi industry. From chipset and equipment manufacturers to service providers and end users, everyone agrees that more than doubling the available spectrum will revolutionize the Wi-Fi user experience. Chipset manufacturers [2] [3] have already announced new products capable of supporting the 6 GHz band and consumer equipment could become available as early as the end of the 2020. To understand the importance of this event, deemed by many as the biggest revolution in Wi-Fi, this paper will review what makes the 6 GHz band compelling for unlicensed use and why additional spectrum is so badly needed to sustain Wi-Fi growth. The paper will also explore how the 6 GHz band will fit into Wi-Fi 6 deployments and analyze the challenges associated with bringing Wi-Fi 6E devices to market. A Guide to Wi-Fi 6E – Wi-Fi 6 in the 6 GHz Band 3 2. Why do we need more spectrum and why the 6 GHz band? Wi-Fi’s Successes As the most prevalent connectivity technology, Wi-Fi has proven to be a success story beyond the highest expectations. It is estimated that Wi-Fi contributes more than $2 trillion to the global economy each year [4] and now, more than ever Wi-Fi has become an essential part of how businesses, healthcare, retail, hospitality and education operate. The availability of unlicensed spectrum in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands has been the driver of Wi-Fi’s successes, as it lowered the barrier of entry for new comers and enabled new and innovative use cases to emerge. In the past 20 years, Wi-Fi evolved to become the ubiquitous local network connectivity technology that it is today. The “little engine that could” of the wireless world, Wi-Fi carries more internet traffic than any other wireless technology. Yet, this was accomplished despite having less than 300 MHz of unrestricted spectrum available. • 80 MHz in the 2.4 GHz band (channels 1 to 13) (U.S. only allows channels 1 to 11, Japan allows channel 14 for 802.11b only) • 180 MHz unrestricted in the 5 GHz band or 500 MHz requiring Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) spectrum sharing channels DFS channels require a spectrum sharing mechanism to ensure that they do not interfere on frequencies used by nearby weather or military radar stations. The Wi-Fi AP must continuously monitor for the presence of radar signals to avoid interference. Due to the complexity and delay incurred by this implementation, the DFS channels are often not supported in consumer equipment or not used by network administrators. 6 GHz Band – Total Spectrum 1200 MHz 59 x 20 MHz 29 x 40 MHz 14 x 80 MHz 7 x 160 MHz 5 GHz Band – Total Spectrum 500 MHz (180 MHz without DFS) DFS Channels 25 x 20 MHz 12 x 40 MHz 6 x 80 MHz 2 x 160 MHz 2.4 GHz Band – Total Spectrum 80 MHz 3 x 20 MHz Non-Overlapping Channels 1 x 40 MHz Figure 1: Wi-Fi spectrum comparison 5925 6425 6525 6875 7125 MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz UNII-5 UNII-6 UNII-7 UNII-8 AP Standard Power Indoor or Outdoor AFC Required AP Low Power Indoor only A Guide to Wi-Fi 6E – Wi-Fi 6 in the 6 GHz Band 4 Client Devices Indoor or Outdoor Under control of the Access Point Standard Power AP and Client 5925 6425 6525 6875 7125 MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz U-NII 5 U-NII 6 U-NII 7 U-NII 8 41 x 20 MHz Channel 20 x 40 MHz Channel 9 x 80 MHz Channel 4 x 160 MHz Channel Low Power Indoor AP and Client 5925 6425 6525 6875 7125 MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz U-NII 5 U-NII 6 U-NII 7 U-NII 8 59 x 20 MHz Channel 29 x 40 MHz Channel 14 x 80 MHz Channel 7 x 160 MHz Channel Out of In-Band Out of Band Band 5850 5925 6425 6525 6875 7125 MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz MHz UNII-4 U-NII 5 U-NII 6 U-NII 7 U-NII 8 Between Sub-bands 6GHz band Non- Non- Non- Non- Non- Non- 20 MHz Channel PSC PSC PSC PSC PSC PSC PSC PSC U-NII-5 U-NII-6 U-NII-7 U-NII-8 545 565 585 6005 6025 6045 6065 6085 6105 6125 6145 6165 6185 6205 6225 6245 6065 6285 6305 6325 6345 6365 6385 6405 6425 6445 6465 6485 6505 6525 6545 6565 6585 6605 6625 6645 6665 6685 6705 6725 6745 6765 6785 6805 6825 6845 6865 6885 605 625 645 665 685 7005 7025 7045 7065 7085 7105 7125 18 13 17 201 205 20 213 217 221 225 22 233 237 241 245 24 253 257 261 265 26 273 277 281 285 28 23 27 301 305 30 313 317 321 325 32 333 337 341 345 34 353 357